I got hooked up with the guild oh about 2003 or 4 when Eclectic Electric was still doing the education and certifying.  Only there was no way I could get up to where they were to take the tests or do the hands-on.  Hell, half the time I live out of friend's houses down here because I dont feel like driving home that far after work.  So I packed up my truck and drove to Florida Key West.  That's where Roughtrader was.  He retired down to Brazil.

I say 'jest' because I like a good joke.  I'm from Albany Louisiana.  Not Albany New York.  Albany Louisiana is in a parish, which is like other states have counties.  Its a real small town.  I'm a lab clerk over in Zachary.  Its still run down around here, all the low lying areas got flooded, campgrounds and other recreation underwater, the lake overflowing onto roads and homes.  So jobs closed down, made them harder to come by.  Construction going on, but you know, things take time.  You have to roll with the punches.

Now, Im just this truck-living fool and RT (Roughtrader) he invites me to live in his house with him in Key West as long as it takes to certify me.  I was between jobs anyway so I pack up the truck and drive through those bits of Mississippi and Alabama, then through all the tourist crap in Florida.  I get there, and there's this long ass-bridge (if you remember the movie True Lies) and its all boats and pink houses and palm trees and cats and fancy umbrella-drinks and open bars.  Open as in no walls.  And RT is this big gay ass looking old man like Spencer Tracy wearing white and sandals and a gilligan-hat .  He has a big house with nothing but windows and you can walk right out and down the dock to his boat.

I am a little uncomfortable because it looks like all his furniture is white and he doesn't even have cats because of the furniture though I expected him to.  But he's just as relaxed as anything and cooks me up some kind of fish and grapes and wine and we just sit on his dock and pretty soon talking about everything. So all we do for a few days is look around Key West and go out on his boat with some of his friends so I can meet them.

I didnt bring anyone to work on, so the meeting of his friends is so I can meet them so I can do these terrible wand things to them. Only I'm not gay and these guys are but Jamie Lee Curtis isn't going to drop in from a helicopter overhead.  But they are making me feel comfortable enough and they like RT's wands and won't mind at all.

RT works with me a few days while I practice showing off techniques and talking in front of people saying what Im doing.  Then we hold a demo together for his friends.  And the theme of the party is 'black and blue and pink and blue' which wound up meaning S&M black and blue and baby pink and blue. 

I was there for a couple of weeks and RT and I got to be good friends even though we are very different.  That's what being part of the Guild is.  The liking of wands crosses other lines.   About every 6 months after that I got to go see him or he came and we met in New Orleans after that.  He wired me some emergency money after the Hurricane.  Then he started going down to Brazil to watch his house being built down there.  Then he moved. 

But I want to say thanks to RT because of everything.  I know he'll be around the Guild.  He's just getting too old to keep up.

Tags: roughtrader | testing | louisiana | violet wand guild | party | Demo | hands-on | florida | demonstration

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